Malaria-Free in China: A Story of More than 70 Years

Malaria has been one of the most important public health issues in China’s history for approximately 4000 years. After more than 70 years of comprehensive control strategies and interventions, great achievements have been made in malaria control in China, the occurrence of indigenous malaria cases has been steeply reduced, and epidemic regions have been drastically shrunken. This great success in controlling malaria ensures people’s health, reduces poverty due to illness, and promotes social and economic development. In 2017, China achieved the target of zero indigenous malaria cases for the first time and has been maintained for 5 consecutive years; thereafter, the World Health Organization certified malaria elimination in China on June 30, 2021. This paper systematically reviews the achievements, experience, and lessons gained from malaria elimination programs and the challenges in the post-elimination phase in China.